Sunday, February 10, 2013

2/4/13

Hola Familia!

Well, for starters, Happy February! I hope all is going well with you from day to day, I constantly have you in my prayers. :) This has been a great week! Full of so much, and in such a little space of time. This week flew by, again (naturally)!

It's a new transfer, and today has been a day of changes. I'M STAYING HERE, AGAIN! Woo hoo! I love this area and ward so much, I'm so excited to stay another transfer here. And not only am I staying in this area, but Elder Facer and I are staying together, too! Yay! He's such a great missionary, we've learned so much from eachother already, and get along really well. Love the Elder. However, I am so sad to say goodbye to my best friend so far in this mission, Elder Weymouth. :( He is being transferred to Garden Grove...new district...new zone. I was so sad! But it's okay, I guess ;), because Elder Bunker's new companion, Elder Fuentes seems like a really great Elder as well. We're excited to have him in our area, he's a worker, too! :)

Also this week, as I'm sure you have heard, I was lucky enough to receive permission to visit Grandma and Grandpa Meo! It was such a neat experience! And a great surprise. ;) I had asked President Bowen on preparation day if I could do it, but didn't hear back from him, so when Wednesday came around, I was too nervous to call him and ask him because I didn't want him to think I was being pushy. Not that he isn't easy to talk to, I LOVE President Bowen. It's just a little nerve-racking ha. On our way out of town, Elder Facer let him know we were leaving, and then mentioned it shortly in a message because his phone was off, but I wasn't expecting it and didn't think he'd return it in time. But, luckily, just before we arrived in Arcadia to Elder Facer's doctor appointment, he called and gave me permission to do it as long as we were home on time! Yay! It was just as much a surprise for me as it was for them to see me at the door ha. They are just so cute! And Elder Facer loved meeting them as well. :) After a nice little chat with them, we offered Grandpa Tony a blessing, and he accepted! So we gave him one, and we were on our way. It was a short little visit, but well worth it, seeing as it may be the last time I see them. :) After the cute little signature Grandma Betty slippery kiss, I said goodbye. What a blessing it was to have that experience. I continue to keep them in my prayers, as he struggles. Love them so much!

It was fun to take a roadtrip to Arcadia, and a funny story along the way kept us laughing for quite some time, and we even still laugh about it. As we were on our way home, we passed through a little area where it smelled like pines. Elder Facer, being the observant one he is, got so excited by the smell that he reacted too fast for his brain to think, and just shouted out "Smine!" After puzzled looks were exchanged, he explained his story, and it the explanation made it even funnier. He cracks me up all the time. haha

While on the topic of humor, I have another story to share! This week, I tried something that I would have never expected to enjoy. Tacos de lengua. The funny thing is that I didn't know I was eating tongue! Let me explain. We were having our coordination meeting with our Ward Mission Leader, and, as usual, his wife was preparing dinner for us. The meeting ended and we began eating these tacos full of delicious meat! I was so hungry, that I had quite a few, they were good! Meanwhile, we were having a discussion around the table about how cow tongue tastes, and about the different parts of animals that are commonly eaten in the latino culture, as I was completely oblivious of the fact that I was eating it. Dinner ended and we were on our way, and it wasn't until later that night that the topic of tongues was brought up again as it was shared that lengua is a sort of a delicasy here. After a swift remark on my part that I hope I NEVER eat tongue because of the countless times I had seen the gigantic, (cow tongues are huge!) squishy specimens laying in the window of the meat department at our commonly visited market; everyone started laughing at me. They then shared with me what the "tasty tacos" we had eaten earlier that night were full of...tongue. Gross. I was disgusted with myself...but now that I think about it...it was actually pretty good. So from now on, I'll eat it...only if I don't know beforehand that it is tongue ha. They still find it funny to make a joke out of that here. Tacos de lengua son muy ricos!

This week, all around, was just a fantastic week. Our investigators are working their ways towards progression, and the ward is doing a great job helping us out. Despite the fact that Samantha's own grandmother has shared that she will disown the family if Samantha gets baptized, she is still strong in her desire to be baptized soon. The faith of this 8-year-old girl is remarkable, and such an example for the rest of her family. Please keep the Cedillo family in your prayers, that their grandmother's heart may be softened. They sure love us missionaries, and really look forward to our visits. Especially the 4-year-old, Sebastian, who continues to refer to us as the "Mystery Men" because he does not know how to pronounce missionaries correctly. It's just great, I love them!

This week also included the burning ceremony of both: a tie to represent my six month mark being passed this past Friday, and a pair of pants to represent passing the 18 month mark by Elder Facer this past week. We had fun burning them over at the Lopez Family, even though my tie is practically fireproof. It was frustrating, but we finally burned the sucker up! You'll see pics of that, soon. :)

We found a couple more families this week, and I will update you about them next week, as we get to know them a little bit more. The fire is going here in is Santa Ana 5! Las cosas! Les amo mucho, y espero que todo este bien con todos ustedes. Les extrano mucho, pero se que estoy haciendo las cosas del Senor aqui! Estan en mis oraciones, les vaya bien! Andale, pues!

-Elder Gallego

"Nevertheless the Lord seeth fit to chasten his people; yea, he trieth their patience and their faith. Nevertheless-whosoever putteth his trust in him the same shall be lifted up at the last day. Yea, and thus it was with this people." Mosiah 23:21-22